I don't know if this speaks to the organization as much as it does Martin's character. You could see how bad Martin himself felt about the season he had. We saw Gonchar go through the same thing, though maybe for a different reason. That was never the player he was, it was just strange. You can tell he put on some pounds and he's looked nothing but solid so far. We went from thinking our defense was shaky at best in the offseason to having a solid top 4 with Despres and Bortuzzo not far behind. When everyone is healthy,

It's also the kind of defense that you can just roll, without worrying too much about matchups (though obviously Martin-Orpik you want up against the top line). It'd be nice to not have anyone's minutes north of 25 per game.

shmenguin wrote:So are we now allowed to say he was bad last year or is that still somehow up for debate?

It was only ever "up for debate" by fanboys of the Pens who try to distract any discussions by saying a legit player criticism is "whipping boy" fodder.

The facts are he stunk. Out loud.

And he was expected to keep on stinking this year.

He has pleasantly surprised us all. Martin's potential performance this year was a big question mark for this team. Right now, he is playing like the dependable, all-around solid D he has show he is capable of.

Did he play to his potential or contract last year? No. But still, IMO, he was a goat, and most of the criticism was unbalanced and unfair. He did a lot of good things in averaging 23 mins a game while "stinking." Such as a stretch playing 28+ mins a game when the Pens blue line was depleted and going +14 in the final 31 games of the season while the hoopla was at its peak here.

Had his play been as bad as some stated here, those things would not have happened. He'd have been scratched or moved down the depth chart.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject. Not going to further resurrect that dead horse.

Seems like the Pens organization, media, and even Martin himself acknowledge that he stunk it up big time last year. Why else would Shero have asked if he wanted to be traded? I don't think the criticism here was at all unfounded, at least relative to the standard LGP swing of things.

Says so much more about Paul Martin off-ice. And also for Ray Shero.As far as last year, Martin himself recognized he played poorly. All credit to Martin for his turnaround and changes he made to make that happen.

Desiato wrote:Did he play to his potential or contract last year? No. But still, IMO, he was a goat, and most of the criticism was unbalanced and unfair. He did a lot of good things in averaging 23 mins a game while "stinking." Such as a stretch playing 28+ mins a game when the Pens blue line was depleted and going +14 in the final 31 games of the season while the hoopla was at its peak here.

Had his play been as bad as some stated here, those things would not have happened. He'd have been scratched or moved down the depth chart.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject. Not going to further resurrect that dead horse.

You summed it up nicely. I don't remember anyone here saying he met expectations.

Martin and Brooks look great together this year, hope they keep it up. I think Paul is the type who isn't going to carry his pair he needs someone who knows what he is doing. So far so good this season.

guiner wrote:That's all good, but still think its a very poor decision to have Paul Martin on the PP instead of Simon Despres.

Nope can't say anything good about Martin. Wow

Think I agree with Guiner on this, Martin has looked awful on the PP 95% of his time here but perhaps this is part of his turnaround. Despres looks like he will develop quickly in the right situations, just a shame it is Letang not Gonchar passing on his wisdom...

I've bashed Martin plenty but his play has silenced my criticism. Does he fit next season considering diminishing cap space and both Nisky and Despres showing potential to play top 4 minutes?

I really get the feeling that it was Michalek who couldn't handle playing here and it sucked Martin down. Michalek has gone back to almost leading the league in blocked shots, and Martin is back to being reliable.

Malkamaniac wrote:I really get the feeling that it was Michalek who couldn't handle playing here and it sucked Martin down. Michalek has gone back to almost leading the league in blocked shots, and Martin is back to being reliable.

It's a system thing I believe. Not the player. Both of their uprises this year can prove that theory. I am happy for the both of them. Z wanted out cause he wasn't being used right. My guess is Z did not see the system changing to his strengths and wanted to bail before it got worse for the team and himself.

Malkamaniac wrote:I really get the feeling that it was Michalek who couldn't handle playing here and it sucked Martin down. Michalek has gone back to almost leading the league in blocked shots, and Martin is back to being reliable.

It's a system thing I believe. Not the player. Both of their uprises this year can prove that theory. I am happy for the both of them. Z wanted out cause he wasn't being used right. My guess is Z did not see the system changing to his strengths and wanted to bail before it got worse for the team and himself.

Which makes sense to me. Michalek was/appeared to be a lay down blocker. Where the system here requires you to be a mobile blocker. I hated when he'd lay down and slide out of position lol.